A truly remarkable sport has evolved through the years in the form of the modern day skate board. It is an outgrowth of earlier skooters employing a single roller skate divided into fore and aft parts secured to a horizontal board with the vertical T shaped handle at the front. The evolution including the elimination of the handle and the use of more sophisticated truck has produced an athletic device which allows young children and adults to develop amazing skill in the ability not only to travel along a straight course at high rates of speed, as high as 60 miles per hour, and to perform maneuvers including hand stands, 360.degree. turns, slalom course races and many other tricks.
The modern day skate board, with this tremendously enhanced maneuverability and speed potential has produced many battle scars for riders. Characteristics of skate board riders are skinned forearms and worn out shoes. One of the first obvious limitations is that the two truck four wheel device has no means in itself of stopping. The most common technique for stopping is for the rider to leave the board. When this is done at high speed, the rider's success depending upon his ability to land without injury. Also, courses are often constructed with runout regions with skip jumps to assist slowing the rider. One of the major requirements for trick riding of the skate board is the ability of the rider to balance precisely on the board and shift his weight forward and rearward, and to the left and to the right to provide the maneuverability required. For example, a 360.degree. turn requires the rider to shift his weight almost entirely to the rear truck and in some cases drag the tail of the board to slow his speed, and then pivot his weight and the board to cause the rear to spin through a 360.degree. turn. This is usually performed on the rear truck and most often without any forward motion.
Many of the maneuvers are possible by reason of the suspension system of the trucks which allows the board to be tipped about the fore and aft axis by the shifting of the rider's weight in the direction of the angle of twist.
Thus, despite the remarkable achievements with the simple skate board, there have been many, many injuries due to the inability of the rider to stop the board, and also the full capability of steering and sharp pivotal turns underway have been limited.